So, October. We’re sitting MID-October, guys, and life is October-y. Which is to say, mostly, awesome. Rich fall colors, crunchy leaves everywhere, cozy sweaters for chilly days, pumpkin themed drinks available but not totally overwhelming us all the time… yeah, this is the best season ever.

But also – I don’t know if it’s just me – but October feels like the hamster wheel of life is really kicking into gear. Evening classes and commitments start back up, pre-holiday plans start to take shape, conferences and travel dates draw closer, and school schedules get more jam-packed with conferences, plays, and projects. (For the record, I am acting like I am involved in a school schedule in some way, shape, or form – but please, friends. I am zero percent involved in school schedules. This October pace is just deeply ingrained in me from my 5 years of teaching and I feel like I will be vicariously living a teachers’ schedule forever.)

All of this means that October is the prime-time to really get intentional about meal planning. Those lunches, man! They sneak up every time. One second it seems like we have a full fridge, and the next I am hangry x10 with my only lunch option being peanut butter toast. AGAIN.

So here’s one of my favorites for meal prep lunching.

Spicy P-O-S-O-L-E, with some easy cornbread muffins to round it out into a filling meal.

Posole Tips

Tip #1: This is not a true, authentic posole recipe. This is a meal prep posole recipe whose ingredients you can memorize and pick up without needing to look anything up online. Canned fire roasted tomatoes, ground pork sausage or similar, hominy, black beans, and all your fixings. Which brings me to Tip #2.

Tip #2: Chips of all shapes and sizes and flavors are a must in this situation. Yes, you have your cornbread muffin and it’s cheesy and spicy and delicious. But without a tiny bit of crunch in there? What is even the point.

Tip #3: Cheese and sour cream really help the spicy posole situation cool down a bit. I used Sargento shredded 4-cheese Mexican blend in my muffins which basically took them to the NEXT LEVEL of golden cornbread muffin perfection, but I also add a tiny bit of extra cheese and sour cream to the posole itself. That subtle creamy touch? Yes, please.

Tip #4: Make this on Sunday. Or early in the week. It’s going to give you a solid 6 servings – as well as a muffin or two per serving – and it stores in the fridge amazingly well and maybe even tastes better the next day. Would that be such a crime?

You guys, Bjork adores this soup, which is so cute to me. I made this all the time when we first got married because it was so easy, and I was so proud of this recipe. I’d make it for family and friends and for chilly nights at home.

But here’s the thing – even with its humble simplicity, it is absolutely AS GOOD as I remember it being when I was an less discerning first-time cook. It’s simple, it’s straightforward, it’s adaptable, and it’s your happy lunches for the week. Love u, meal planning!

Yes – I normally use a Jimmy Dean standard type sausage (I think it is normally used for breakfasts) but I’ve also used just straight ground pork or other meat and that is also delicious if you flavor it with enough spices as it cooks!

This looks AMAZING. And I’m a sucker for anything with jalapenos, so those cornbread muffins are right up my alley. Both of these are going on my “to-try” list, for sure! Thank you so much for sharing!

So this was amazing! October dinner at its best. It was so easy to do but has so much flavor. My mouth is still singling from the awesome spice. It’s a keeper and I am so pumped for the leftovers tomorrow.

I’ve made this three times now, using a mix of different ground meat each time (beef, pork, turkey, chorizo, whatever I had). This is so good!! Love how easy it is and the spicy cornbread muffins are a necessary side 🙂

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